Two of a Kind
by AlchemyOtaku0922
Summary: When Dib comes down with a strange sickness, he learns some things about not only himself, but a certain alien, as well. Now, he and his former enemy must work together to find a cure. Will they finally become friends? Or possibly even more? ZADR
1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note: Hey guys! I know I haven't posted any stories in awhile, so sorrrryyy D: Hopefully this story makes up for it? :D The idea has been in my head for a looong time, so I hope you all enjoy it!**

The boy stared at the red liquid that taunted him from the sink.

Blood.

Dib knew something was wrong. Humans didn't normal cough up blood every morning after all. Besides, this wasn't the first time this had happened.

The first time Dib dismissed it, blaming the unusual occourance on stress. The next time he blamed it on a fight with Zim. He continued to think of more and more excuses until he realized he couldn't deny it anymore. His daily condition was worsening; mysterious bruises forming on his body, constant fatigue, chronic headaches, even vomiting. There was definitely something wrong with him.

He didn't want to let his father know for various reasons. To start, he didn't want to become Membrane's test subject. He knew that if his father knew about his symptom's, he would feel compelled to solve the mystery of what's wrong with his son, not stopping at any _experimental _measures.

On top of that, Dib had learned in his fifteen years of life not to ask too much of his dad. He was always too busy anyway. Family night? _'I have to go to the lab tonight.' _Parent-teacher confrences? _'The other scientists need me.' _Family summer vacation? _'Who has time for that?' _

Dib had prided himself in learning to take care of himself. As soon as this had started Dib had decided he would handle it on his own. He didn't need or want his father's help. But, the more it went on, the more and more Dib was coming to accpet that maybe this was out of his hands.

"Dib!" The name was shouted as if it was the nasiest, most disgusting word ever muttered, which indicated that it had come from Dib's _oh-so loving _sister, Gaz.

"I'll be there in a minute, Gaz!" Dib called downstairs. With a glance of the clock, he could tell he was dangerously close to making his sister late for school, and therefore dangerously close to envoking her wrath.

He grabbed his backpack and flew down the steps, mumbling a "sorry" to Gaz. The girl only took her eyes off her Gameslave for a moment to glare at her increasingly annoying brother. She was thankful that they at least didn't have to spend seven hours together in the same building anymore. She was in seventh grade, and her big-headed brother was a freshman in high skool. Even knowing this fact, their father still required that they walked to skool together every day.

"The Junior High is on the way," Membrane had told Dib. "You can drop your little sister off on the way."

This had earned whining from Gaz for weeks, but, as she realized things weren't going to change, the complaints became less and less until they dropped to an occasion whimper of a protest. The thing that mostly bothered her now was how long it took Dib to get ready in the mornings.

"What takes you so long?" Gaz asked as her and the future paranormal investigator set off for school.

"I don't know." Dib muttered, too tired and annoyed to give his siste a proper response.

"You're such a girl," Gaz scoffed. "_I _don't even take that long in the bathroom."

"I guess that makes you a man." Dib quipped, and for a moment he thought he would need to prepare a will, but instead of the sound of Gaz murdering him, he instead heard a bemused hiccup of a laugh. He turned to look at the purple-haired girl, but her eyes were still trained on her game, her face expressing indifference.

Dib smiled to himself, glad to be reminded that Gaz didn't always hate everything about him.

Most of the skool day went pretty normal for Dib. At least, what you would classify as "normal" for the supposedly insane boy. Most of his classes-which Zim was _convienently _in-were relatively quiet and calm.

The Irken had learned to tone things down over the years. He had managed to figure out that most humans don't shout aloud whatever they're thinking followed by claims of "I'm normal!" He could still be his old, obnoxious self, but mostly around Dib and not so much in public.

"You're not eating your _disgusting _Earth-food." Zim pointed out at lunch, setting his tray across from Dib's.

"Neither are you." Dib countered, tossing a frustrated glance at the alien for having chosen to sit with him today.

It was true that both boys had grown accustomed to sitting together at lunch (mostly because no one else would sit with either of them, and they found each other's company more entertaining than being alone), but Dib was in no mood to deal with the alien today.

"I all ready ate some," Zim lied. "It was _delicious._" His eyes narrowed suspiciously. "Now, why aren't _you _eating?"

"I'm just not feeling well, okay?" Dib replied, exasperated. He pushed his tray away so he could lie his head down on the table.

Zim took a moment to study the earthling. There was bags under his eyes and his skin was pale. When the boy spoke, his voice came out harsh and forced. Conclusion: Dib was sick.

"You're not looking well, either." Zim commented, mindlessly shoveling a spoonful of cafeteria glob into his mouth, which he promptly spit out.

"Gee, thanks." Dib muttered the muffled reply, seeing as has how his head was now burried in his arms.

"Shouldn't your parental unit take you to the, uh..." Zim searched for the word.

"Hospital?" Dib finished. The Irken nodded and Dib sighed. "He doesn't know I'm sick," He admitted. "Besides, I don't remember him ever taking me to a hospital before. The last time I was at one was probably the day I was born."

Zim seemed confused at the idea of human offspring being birthed in a hospital, but decided he could research it later. "Whatever you say, hyuu-man." Zim mumbled. He stood up, throwing his tray away just as the bell rang.

As Dib Membrane sat though his last class of the day, pain rippling throughout his head. He decided then that he would _have _to tell his father about his sickness. It was causing him too much pain to keep secret anymore.

As soon as the bell rang, Dib was filled with anxiety. He was almost a little afriad of his dad and how he would react to Dib interuptting his studies to say he was sick. He breathed out to try to expel some of the nerves.

"Are you dying?" The question came from above him. Dib looked up from his desk at the green-skinned face that contained nothing but pure curiosity.

"No, Zim!" The scythe-haired boy exclaimed, frustrated with the alien's incessant questions.

Dib stood up, towering over Zim. During his time on Earth, Zim had grown to be 5'2", an accomplishment he was proud of. It was short for a human, but tall for an Irken. He explained his sudden growth on the Earth's atmospheric pressure.

The only thing that angered him about this whole "growing" thing was that The Dib had grown, too. His large-headed nemesis was now a staggering 5'9". At first, Zim had been almost impressed by the human's dramatic change in elevation in such a short period of time; that is, until he realized that this was a normal occourence for Earthlings. Most of their classmates had shot up above the poor Irken over what seemed like one Earth-season. Zim wondered why that was.

He opened his mouth to question The Dib-Stink on human growth patterns, only to realize that the raven-haired boy had all ready left. Zim shrugged his shoulders, and gathered his things, leaving the now-empty room.


	2. Chapter 2

**Authors Note: Hi again! Sorry it took so long to post this chapter! Been busy with the school musical and stuffsss. I hope you all enjoy it though! :D **

"This plan is sure to finally crush those pig-smellies!" Zim proclaimed to Gir as he tinkered with a new invention that he was convinced would annihilate all of makind.

As a strange sickness seemed to have taken over Dib, the large-headed boy started putting less and less effort into his fights with the alien. The infuriated Zim, but also motivated him to come up with more ingenious and elaborate plans that would force the human to register him as a real threat. Surely he wouldn't be ignored this time. Just as he was about to put on the finishing touches, he was interuptted by the computer's voice.

"Incoming transmission from: The Tallest." It announced.

Zim gleefully clapped his hands together, smiling widely. "Perfect!" He shouted. "I can show them my brilliant new plan!"

"I sure do like tacos!" Gir added randomly.

Zim waved him off and pressed a button that revealed Red and Purple's bored expressions on a large computer screen.

"My Tallest!" Zim greeted, saluting pridefully.

"Hello, Zim." Purple muttered a greeting.

"I'm glad you called!" Zim continued excitedly. "I was just working on-"

"We don't care, Zim." Red cut him off abruptly, his tone dark.

Zim's smile faltered for a moment, shocked by his leader's harsh words, but he quickly regained his composure. "Right, I'm sure you're very busy." The Irken quickly brushed off Red's terse attitude.

"Look," Purple started, "we'll just cut straight to the point." Zim waited patiently for him to continue, but there was only silence. Finally, Purple simply nudged his comrade.

"I have to tell him?" Red asked Purple, completely insensitive to Zim's A

Zim's impatient nature caused him to growl slightly, but he straightened once his Tallest's eyes met his once more.

"Zim, we can't continue to humor you anymore." Red stated bluntly.

"We just don't have the time or the recources." Purple added.

"Or the tolerance for your...antics." Red contributed with a sneer.

Zim was filled with confusion. What were his leaders saying? They weren't making any sense. "I have no idea what you're talking about." He protested, hoping Red and Purple would clarify.

"We don't have time to play this game with you," Purple said, letting out an exasperated sigh. He really believed that Zim's ignorance was just a facade he used to avoid reality, not genuine confusion. "How many times do we have to tell you that you're banished before you choose to believe it?"

Zim opened his mouth to offer a rebuttle, but Red cut him off before he could speak one word. "The only reason we sent you on this silly, fake mission to Earth is because we'd hoped you would get yourself killed in the middle of space somewhere."

The pure weight of the words caused Zim to stagger backwards. He could feel his stomach drop. His Tallest wanted him _dead_? He wasn't a real solider? What use was he even as an Irken?

_You're useless. _A voice in his head echoed.

He realized his mouth had been hanging open in shock, so he promptly shut it. There was an akward silence before Red and Purple realized Zim wasn't going to say anything more. They decided it was time to wrap up the transmission.

"Well," Purple started again, an awkward smile on his face. "Have a nice life!"

"Or don't," Red said. "We don't really care!"

The computer screen blanked and Zim was left in silence. His knees gave in, and he fell to a sitting position, no longer finding the energy to stand.

_This isn't real. _He tried to convience himself. _There's no way this is actually happening. It has to be some kind of nightmare or...or trick. _

That was it, Zim concluded. It _had _to be a trick. His Tallest were just "pulling his leg", as the human phrase goes.

Zim picked himself up and made his way back to the computer screen. He pressed the call button, hoping to see his leader's mischevious grins on the screen, but the only thing he saw was a cold message that stung his heart. It read "signal jammed".

The Irken was now desperately clawing at the buttons, trying to find a connection. After a few minutes, he finally accepted that his efforts were futile and slipped back down on the cold ground.

"How can this be?" Zim questioned aloud. "Do my Tallest really..._hate_ me?"

"Awwwhhh," A pitying, robotic voice sounded. "Mastah's sad!"

Zim painfully looked up at Gir. The robot's mouth was twisted into a frown. Zim snarled at him. He was just another defective piece of equipment that the Tallest set him up with in order to fail. Gir was a joke, like the rest of his mission. He wasn't some limited edition, "special" model, he was just nuts and bolts and broken parts thrown together to look like a pitiful excuse of a SIR unit.

"Should I make a cake?" Gir asked innocently.

Zim wanted to break him, to obliterate every gear in his body. He wanted to crush the idiotic robot so he could never look at him and be reminded of his failure as an Irken again.

The alien grabbed Gir, ready to unleash his pent up anger, but after taking one look at the robot's lifeless eyes, the anger drained from him and was quickly replaced with sadness. He knew he couldn't hurt the SIR unit, defective as he was. Gir had been his companion through everything, the only one who would still stay by him, no matter what. He decided then that, from then on, he would protect Gir, not allowing any harm to come to him.

He released the robot, gently setting him on the ground. "Just...leave me alone, Gir." Zim commanded weakly.

"Yes, sir!" Gir's eyes flashed an obediant red for just a moment before they returned to their average, blank blue. He ran off rather quickly, probably to cause mischeif elsewhere.

Zim sighed defeatedly. It was over. He wasn't an invader. He never really _was. _He had no purpose in his life. His Tallest-no, the weren't _his _Tallest anymore. They didn't want him anymore. They _never _did. He was stuck on the filth ball that he once believed he would rule with no supplies and no connection to his home planet aside from the broken Irken equipment he was left with.

Zim sat in the same spot for what seemed like hours, turning thoughts over in his head. Eventually, he decided he couldn't take it anymore. He stood up, feeling a desperate need to get out of his base. The base was feeling more and more like a prison with each passing second. The walls were closing in on him, he felt like he was suffocating.

He forced himself up and shuffled over to the elevator, pressing a button that would send him up. Once he arrived on the house level, he moved in a zombie-like fashion to the door. The sight startled Gir, who was sitting on the couch watching television.

"Where ya goin'?" The innocent robot questioned, tearing his eyes away from the screen to watch his master.

"Out." Was Zim's terse reply as he swung the door open.

The alien paused, noting it was pouring outside, the occasional bolt of lightning illuminating the night sky. Zim faintly wondered if he rememered to bathe in paste that morning, but finally reasoned that it didn't matter. What's the worst that could happen? He could _die? _So what? Isn't that what Red and Purple wanted all along anyway?

He trudged out into the rain, softly closing the foor behind him. Each drop of water stung at his skin, but Zim didn't mind. The physical pain at least distracted from his internal pain, if only a little.

He started walking, not really knowing where he was going. It's not like he belonged anywhere. Not on Irk. Not on Earth with the humans. None of them would ever accept him, anyway.

_What am I going to do? _The question rang through his head, going unanswered. He had no idea what to do with himself. He just felt like giving up on everything.

A sudden wave of exhaustion washed over him. He looked up to check his sorroundings, and realized his legs had carried him to the park.

_Maybe I can rest here_. He thought, continuing inside.

The park was completely empty, which Zim assumed was because of the rain. Humans weren't hurt by the rain, as he was, but they still hated to get caught in it. Apparently the coldness of it was bad for their health.

Eventually, Zim's undisguised eyes found their way to an abandoned park bench. He plopped himself down and looked up at the dark clouds. A drop of the acid-like liquid fell into his eye, causing him to release a hiss and look down.

_Could things get any worse? _He wondered.

The Irken finally decided to lie down. Maybe he could just fall asleep and not wake up again. Zim thought that wouldn't be so bad. He willed his eyes shut, allowing the fatigue of the day to lull him to sleep.


	3. Chapter 3

**Author's Note: Hey guys! Sorry about the delay. I've been busy and yadda yadda. Anyway, here's the new chapter. I worked really hard on this one so I hope you all enjoy it!**

Dib Membrane took a deep breath before pushing open the door to his dad's lab. It didn't help to calm his nerves, like he had hoped. He didn't want to ask his father for help, but he didn't see any other option.

He slowly descended the steps, a new wave of dread pulsing through him with each step he took. _What if he doesn't even care? _Dib couldn't help but wonder. That thought is what scared him the most.

"Dad?" He called meakly after he reached the bottom of the stairs. He peaked his head around the corner, revealing his father hunched over some odd-looking machine that Dib assumed was his latest project.

The professor didn't answer, so Dib assumed he didn't hear. He took a step closer and spoke up. "Dad?"

Professor Membrane snapped out of his trance, jerking his head twoards the boy. "What is it, son?" He asked, seeming a bit annoyed.

"I, uh, need to talk to you." Dib proclaimed, wringing his hands.

"Can it wait?" Membrane asked. "I'm kind of busy-"

"You're always busy," Dib blurted out. He quickly regretted the mistake when his father turned to raise an eyebrow at him. Dib broke eye contact with the man, suddenly finding the floor very interesting, before continuing. "And, uh...this is important."

"Fine," Membrane finally conceded, turning his full body and attention twoards the young boy. "I have a few minutes."

Dib took a moment to think of how he should place his words. "I...think I'm really sick." He finally stated.

"Sick?" Membrane questioned. The tone in his voice said _'why are you wasting my time with this?' _

"Yeah," Dib answered, feeling slightly embrassed. He could see his father was growing impatient rather quickly, so he tried to rush out the rest of his words. "I've been getting really tired and keep finding bruises and don't know where they come from and..." He sighed. "Coughing up blood."

This seemed to spark the professor's intrest. "How long has this been happening?" He asked.

"A few weeks." Dib admitted shyly.

"Not a good sign," Membrane muttered more to himself than Dib. His tone seemed worried, but his eyes were cold and calculating. This confused Dib. "I need to run a test."

"No!" Dib immediatly refused. Memrane gave him a confused look, curious as to why his son wouldn't want to be apart of one of his great experiments that could save his life. Dib sighed, frustrated. "Can we just go to the hospital?" He asked.

"Not if it's what I think it is." The professor stated, almost sadly.

"And that would be...?" Dib prompted, quite perplexed about his father's strange attitude.

Membrane sat down, quiet for a moment. The silence was unnerving. Dib had an ominous feeling that something bad was about to happen.

"There's something I should tell you," Membrane began. He was quiet again for a minute and Dib's patience was wearing thin. He wanted to shout _"get on with it all ready!", _but he waited instead. He could tell Membrane was considering his words carefully. "You aren't...who you think you are." He finally spoke.

Dib was genuinely confused by the statement. Also, a bit annoyed. The anticipation was killing him and it wasn't the time for vaugeness.

"Namely, you're not my son." The professor clarified. Dib's eyes widened in shock and Membrane immediatly cursed his bluntness. "At least, not in the technical sense." He corrected.

Dib suddenly felt the need to sit, too. His mind was suddenly flooded with questions. If he wasn't Membrane's son, who was he? How was it even possible that he wasn't Dib's father? Afterall, hadn't he always been told how much he looked like the man he'd always called father? Why wouldn't Membrane tell him about something like this before? And how did _any _of this relate to his sickness?

As Dib's curiousity rose, so did his anger at his "dad". "What do you mean?" Dib demanded.

"Things weren't supposed to go this far," The professor admitted, once again not being direct. "When I was younger, I was anxious to break out into the science world. I wanted to do something that had never been done, to get myself remembered," He paused. Dib could see a touch of regret pooling in his eyes, and maybe even a hint of...shame? "I tried and tried for months to no avail, failure after failure, until, _finally_, I came up with the perfect plan-the perfect project that would get name 'Membrane' recognized." The professor sighed. "Cloning." His voice cracked on the last word.

"Cloning?" Dib echoed the word weakly. Sudden realization hit him. "You're telling me that I'm a clone?" He shouted.

Membrane hung his head in shame. "My thinking was that, if I could sucessfully clone myself, I would not only make a huge impact on the world, but I would also have someone to carry on the Membrane legacy." His eyes turned to Dib.

All of a sudden, things made more sense. That's why Membrane always pressured him so intensely to study "real science" and give up on the paranormal.

_Afterall, that is what I was _created _for. _Dib thought broken-heartedly. He could sense something dark settle into the bottom of his heart.

An awful thought suddenly occured to him. "Mom." He choked out. "Is...is she...and Gaz...?" He couldn't form the last question that Membrane knew would occur to the boy.

"When I first began my research over cloning, I figured my wife would disapprove," The scientist continued. Dib didn't see the relevance to his question, but he was sure Membrane was getting to the point. "Afterall, it was illegal-still is-and some even argued _immoral, _so I knew I would have to conduct the entire experiment in secret. But, to my surprise, she actually _welcomed _the idea. We had found out not too long beforehand that we were unable to have children, so she figured the clone would be the perfect opportunity to raise a child together.

"I was against the idea," He admitted. "I wanted to stay professional about the whole thing. But, my wife was set on having a child, and I couldn't deny her something she wanted so badly." The man's eyes filled with sorrow at the memory of the love of his life. "It wasn't until a couple of years later until we proved the doctor wrong and she got pregnant with Gaz."

Dib felt like he was going to be sick. Everything he had believed to be true his whole life was turning out to be lies. His whole life was crashing down around him, and the man that was supposed to be his father was just sitting there with a cold expression, doing nothing. But what was he supposed to do, anyway? He was just a man who created him in a test tube. Even his sister wasn't really his sister. The woman he thought was his mother for all these years really had no relation to him at all. Dib didn't even feel human anymore. He was just another one of Professor Membrane's sick lab tests.

Dib allowed himself to feel everything at once. The biting sadness, the overwhelming betrayal, the heated fury. It consumed him, ate at his very core. Then, as quickly as it all came, it dissapeared. Dib shut off all emotions. He needed answers, and being emotional wasn't the way to get them. Besides, he had no reason to be too sentimental with the complete stranger sitting in front of him.

"What does any of this have to do with me being sick?" Dib questioned.

"I'm getting to that," Membrane answered. He cleared his throat, a nervous habit of his. "When I finally performed the experiment, something went wrong. Perhaps my calculation weren't correct or something was entered wrong or perhaps it just wasn't meant to be...whatever the case, the clone-you-didn't turn out right." Membrane paused to allow Dib a comment, but the only response from the boy was a distraught expression. Membrane imagined the boy turning over the words _"something went wrong" _in his head. A distrubing thought, but the professor tried to ignore his guilty conscience so he could finish his explination. For Dib's sake and his own. He needed to finally get this off his chest.

"You were living, yes, but there were things genetically wrong with you and the chemicals didn't add up right and I knew you probably wouldn't _continue _living for very long."

Dib clenched his teeth to prevent an outburst of emotion. _I'm dying. _

"I wanted to destroy the clone immediately, accept the failure, and continue searching for a discovery that would put me on top. However, my wife-_your mother_-insisted that we keep the clone and quit "the devil's work", as she called it."

Membrane was quiet for a little bit. His eyes were glistening. Dib figured he must have been thinking about Mom. The boy looked away, feeling as if he were invading in on a personal moment.

"She wanted to call you Dib." He stated, a sad smile gracing his features.

Dib's heart sank and sympathy rippled through him, despite all he had learned about Membrane. Dib didn't personally remember his mother very well-he had only been five when she had died-but whenever Membrane spoke of her, he could still see pain in the man's eyes.

"I'm a fool," Membrane continued, softly. "I've always been a fool. That was one thing that didn't change after she died. In my heart I believed I could just hold on to her, cling on to her memory and convience myself she wasn't really gone. Everything reminded me of her...especially you," He took a long, hard look at Dib. "She loved you with everything she had, and I soon realized that I did, too."

Membrane turned to look Dib in the eyes for the first time since he had begun explaining his dirty secret. "Dib," The name startled the boy. Membrane _never _used his name unless he was serious. "You're my son," he spoke, "nothing less."

"No I'm not," Dib spat, reaching his breaking point. "I'm just a pathetic reminder of the wife you can never get back. _That's _the only reason you care at all about me," This was too much to handle. "Why else would you have kept this from me for all these years?" Everything was spinning. "You _knew _I was going to die!" Dib felt dizzy. "You did NOTHING to stop it!"

Before Professor Membrane could respond, Dib bolted for the door. He had to get away. He had to think.

As he ran, he could feel the earth spinning underneath him. His feet were on solid ground, but he felt he would slip and fall at any moment. He didn't see where he was going; he wasn't paying enough attention to. He tried to think, but it was as if his brain couldn't process thoughts anymore. Nothing made sense anymore.

He ran and ran until he couldn't run anymore, and then he ran a bit longer. Once he finally came to a slow, his numbness began to dissapear and he finally noticed the small droplets of water pelting him from above.

_Great. _He thought bitterly, trying to catch his breath from the run by taking shallow gasps of air. He clutched his trenchcoat closer to his body, hugging himself for warmth. He turned his head, searching for some kind of shelter, when his eyes finally rested on the old, familiar "park" sign.

Dib waltzed into the gated area, observing his sorroundings. There was the old playground that he and Gaz used to play in when they were younger. He allowed nostalgia to fill him until the pleasant memory was dashed by the reminder that he wasn't the person he thought he was then.

Dib turned his head away from the now run-down playground, fury filling him once more. He remembered the young boy who believed he would be a prominent paranormal investigator someday. Now he realized that he was just a big a freak as bigfoot or any alien.

_Isn't that just what I am? _Dib mused. _An alien? I'm a foreign being who doesn't belong in this world. _

He was just about to turn around and leave when he spotted a strange sight out of the corner of his eye. He turned on his heal, inspecting the view further.

There was an undisguised Zim, lying down on a park bench about 40 yards away. His skin was scalded and his eyes were shut. Dib had to speculate whether the creautre was breathing or not.

Suddenly, Dib's instincts kicked in and he was sprinting over to the alien, feeling a certain urgency about the situation. He stripped off his trenchcoat and immediatly draped it over Zim upon arriving next to him. Dib hoped the fabric was enough to protect the Irken from the unrelenting weather.

"Zim...?" He spoke timidly.

The alien didn't answer, but Dib _did _note that his small chest was rising and falling ever-so-slightly, indicating that Zim was still alive. He breahed a sigh of relief, grateful for at least that much, and decided that he needed to get Zim to a sheltered area as soon as possible.

Dib picked the alien up (an easy task considering, due to Zim's height and small frame, he only weighed about 80 lbs) and hurried as fast as he could out of the park. As he made his way down the street, he could feel Zim squirm in his arms, his obvious discomfort from the storm showing through.

"Everything will be okay, Zim," He quietly reassured the unconcious body. "I'm taking you home."


End file.
